Thursday

Feb 15, 2018 at 9:00 PM

Sen. Tom Carper, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, released a statement Feb. 15 on the Finance Committee hearing with IRS Acting Commissioner David Kautter to examine the president’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2019.

“The president’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2019 continues us further down a dangerous path of asking the Internal Revenue Service to do more and more with less funding. Despite the increased number of taxpayers and significant changes made to our tax code in the last eight years, let alone the last year, this budget request would fund the IRS at a level that’s nearly six percent less than IRS’s funding level in fiscal year 2010. That logic doesn’t add up,” said Carper.

“During tax season, we’re reminded of the important yet difficult work of the IRS. Yet, the president’s budget request for fiscal year 2019 includes draconian cuts to taxpayer services. For Americans who need help or have questions while filing their taxes, this steep funding cut could mean longer wait times on the phone and longer delays in written correspondence. We should be making it easier for hardworking Americans to get the help they need to put money back in their pockets during tax season, not making it more difficult,” said Carper.

“Congress and the administration is setting up the IRS to fail if we continue to underfund the agency while asking the agency to increase its workload. I look forward to hearing from the acting commissioner about what the agency needs from Congress to fulfill its mission,” said Carper.